Number of Scottish homes within walking distance of a bus stop falling

Date: 3/12/2012

Fewer people in Scotland live within walking distance of a bus stop, new research into one area has found, but it is thought that this could reflect the situation across the country.

According to (SPT) Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, only 28 per cent of the houses within its area of operation are close enough to a bus stop to walk to.

When this is compared to the percentage in 2009, it has dropped significantly from the 44 per cent of homes which were situated within walking distance of a bus stop, reports The Herald in Scotland.

The study has called for bus provision to be addressed as it is important to ensure that communities do not become isolated during the economic downturn.

Train travel is becoming more popular, but approximately five-times more bus journeys were taken in Scotland last year, totalling 440 million.

SPT said that many bus companies have been forced to cut down the frequency of their services and the routes they travel as a way to cut costs.

George Redmond, Chairman at SPT, said: "The status quo is no longer an option - SPT has laid out clear plans to improve the bus market and we are working with our partners to make that happen.

"If we are to realise our ambition of getting people on to public transport and boosting the economy, we need to tackle this serious decline now."

The (CPT) Confederation of Passenger Transport said that congestion is a bigger problem in Strathclyde than elsewhere in Scotland, meaning that this issue needs to be tackled in order to improve the reliability of buses.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish government said: "This government is absolutely committed to improving bus services for passengers and communities - that is why we are investing £250 million every year to support a range of schemes including the BSOG, concessionary travel, Scottish Green Bus Fund and creating a Bus Investment Fund."

Posted by Sarah Bailey

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